


If only in my dreams...

by Aramirandme81



Series: A Johnsons Christmas Calendar 2013 [20]
Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 07:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aramirandme81/pseuds/Aramirandme81
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axl is finally old enough that Mike and Val don’t interrogate him about his whereabouts every time he goes out.<br/>Axl has taken this freedom and begun to tentatively get back in contact whit his banished brother again, which is great but now Christmas is drawing near and Axl can’t help but want Anders to be part of that again... only he can’t...can he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	If only in my dreams...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elenhin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elenhin/gifts).



> Well I did tell you I'd be finishing this even if it would be a bit late because of all the stuff I had to do. :-D  
> But shoot, you can stand a few more short Christmas 'fic's even if this IS the new year right?   
> Well I hope so anyway, because here is the first.  
> Cheers!

It’s a couple of years since Anders been banned for something he did at his twenty first, not that anyone has told Axl what that thing was but given the way Val will hiss, sprouting claws and fangs every time Anders is mentioned in any way he’s pretty sure it has something to do with her.

Not that that surprises Axl, because even though he might be generally oblivious to the subtleties of social interactions and such, he’d noticed the way the two of them had been eyeing each other like angry cat’s from the very start and it had only gotten worse by the year. But anyway it’s been a couple of years and Axl has finally reached an age where he no longer has to ask Mike or Val’s permission on who he can or cannot see and hang out with.

Him and Ty had had a talk about Anders a few weeks back, Axl confessing that he misses him but at the same time that he was beginning to be afraid he’d forget him because he wasn’t allowed to speak of him let alone see him and Val had ‘cleansed’ the house of any trace of Anders long ago. Ty had then confessed that after his twenty first, he’d actually begun talking to Anders again, he’d even given Axl Anders number saying that he was sure Anders would be happy to talk to him but that no Anders could not come to the house.

Three weeks after that Axl had ended up in the drunk tank for...well let’s not get into details but let it be sufficient to say that the only person Axl wanted to call at that moment was Anders.

Anders had sounded more than a little surprised to hear Axl’s voice on the other end but he’d also sounded pleased that Axl had chosen to call him. 

And the call had totally been worth it. Anders had come through for him, not only getting him out but somehow persuading the officers that there really was no need to keep a record of the incident since clearly Axl was very contrite and would never do anything like that again and no calling his guardians was not necessary since Anders was there. More than that, Anders had taken Axl with him to his place, let him shower and spend the night and treated him to a greasy brunch the day after when Axl finally managed to pry his eyes open and wrestle out from under the covers and Anders hadn’t told Mike or even Ty about what had happened. For which Axl was eternally grateful.

 

It’s nearing Christmas and this year Axl wants to do something for Anders as well. Since his brother has never forgotten them in his exile it’s only fair that Axl, now that he’s at least somewhat reconnected with his brother, return the favour. 

But how? That’s the big question, so Axl makes a list of possibilities and goes over them one by one.

 

Christmas.

He can’t invite Anders home for Christmas, Val would scream and shout and Mike would growl and scold. Ty might be on Axl’s side, but Ty has moved out just recently after turning twenty one, seems to be a trend of sorts that Anders started involuntarily. 

And as much as he would like to have his entire family under one roof for Christmas, even if it would mean Ty or even Anders himself hosting it, Axl just can’t see it happening. 

 

Decorating?

No that’s Val’s gig, so just no.

 

The Solstices party maybe? 

Val never really understood it, not that Axl does either but it’s a great excuse for a BBQ, so maybe Anders could come there?

No, no Val won’t have him in the house and Mike has said something similar to Ty once he figured out Ty had been speaking to the estranged brother, so that won’t do either.

 

Christmas baking?

No, that’s more Ty’s thing and Val has already made him promise he’d come home and help her so Ty won’t want to bake twice, will he? Axl puts a ‘?’ by that on the list.

 

Carolling?

No Axl can’t carry a tune, and now that he thinks about it Axl’s not sure he’s ever heard Anders as much as hum even once. So probably not.

 

Christmas dinner or lunch?

Axl can’t cook to save his life, and if he’s trying to be nice to Anders as a ‘Thank you for still being my brother even if you aren’t really allowed anywhere near me and this is all one big secret and very hush hush’ and ‘I’s like to spend Christmas with you but we both know we can’t so we are doing this instead’ then Axl is pretty sure he’s the one who’s supposed to be doing the work not Anders. 

Taking Anders out somewhere to say it?

Axl barely has the money for presents or bus fare, so even a trip to the local burger joint would be stretching it.

 

Maybe he could ask Anders to help him shop for presents? 

But why would Anders, who’s always hated shopping with a passion, want to shop for presents for people who he either never see or who he doesn’t even know? And on top of that it’s for a celebration he’s not allowed to attend. 

So Axl crosses that idea out as well. 

 

No it’s in no way easy to find a way to make this work.

 

And before Axl knows it he’s more than two thirds of the way to Christmas Eve and he still hasn’t found something that he can do to show Anders he’s still a part of Axl’s life even if it’s only a small one.

 

Axl and Zeb are sitting at Zeb’s house wrapping presents.

Val knows how forgetful Axl can be, so she’d made him a list so he wouldn’t forget anyone. A list Axl is just double cheeking now and that’s when he notices something missing from the list. 

“Shit.” Axl sighs and lowers his head onto his arms where they rest on the table.

Val doesn’t know about Anders, so of course she wouldn’t put his name on the list. Meaning that Axl, figuring he was all done, has just spent his last dime on the present for Mike and burgers for him and Zeb.   
He’s forgotten to take the cost of a present for Anders into account and now he can’t afford to even think about getting him something and it’s the twentieth tomorrow so no time to earn money either. 

 

When he explains this to Zeb, who naturally asks why Axl is suddenly so glum, Zeb is actually helpful even if he too can’t quite understand what has gotten Anders labelled: Persona non grata.

 

“Well what did you like to do together? Wasn’t there anything you did just the two of you?”

“He used to take me to see Santa, but I hardly think we can do that.” Axl says, and Zeb agrees that that might not be the most appropriate idea no.

“Well there must be something your brother liked that you can get cheap or for free somehow?” Zeb says and munches down on the end of a candy cane as he finishes wrapping the last of his presents.

Axl’s nose catches the strong smell of peppermint in the air and his face lights up as a sensory memory of Anders laughing and smelling of peppermint on Christmas morning hits him.

“Zeb you’re a genius.” Axl declares and explains his idea to Zeb.

 

On the morning of the twenty-fourth Axl get’s Ty to swing by Anders place really quickly, Ty’s got the key so Axl let’s himself in, because Anders is out for the day, and places his ‘present’ on Anders kitchen table where he’ll be sure to see it. 

Axl feels really sneaky for having done this, but of course Anders being Anders he outdoes him almost immediately and when Axl takes down his own stocking on Christmas morning, Val insists you never get too old for stockings as long as you live at home, there in the bottom beneath all the stuff Val has put in, is a tiny parcel wrapped in paper sporting candy canes, tied with a festive red ribbon and a note saying simply: ‘Merry Christmas and Thank you.’ 

Inside the parcel is a key-card, and a post it saying: ‘For when you need space.’ It’s signed with a simple ‘A’ but Axl knows who it’s from and can’t help but smile at the faint whiff of peppermint and oranges he get’s when he reads the tiny scrap of paper again later. Sure it could be from what was in his own stocking, but Axl likes to imagine Anders face lighting up when he finds the stocking Axl has left him and then peeling the orange and then eating the candy cane as he’d sat down to write the note and wrap the key. 

And if Mike remarks later that Axl is unusually cheerful even for it being Christmas and Val will teasingly accuse him of having found a special someone then Axl will only smile and say that yes he has found someone special and send Ty a knowing smile which makes his slightly on the gloom side brother get an almost warm look on his face as he figures out what Axl means? Well Axl can live with being teased a bit, because Anders is special. He’s his brother.


End file.
